


Uprooted

by Black_to_clover



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Gets better later, Girl falls into multi-universe, Going to add other movie series later, How Do I Tag, I Should Stop Now, I have no idea what I am doing but I'm doing it anyway, Infinity War scarred me so I'm gonna fix it...eventually, Kind of drepressing at first, Minor Character Death, Potential Romance...?, This isn't going to just be about the avengers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-08-18
Packaged: 2019-04-05 11:41:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14043504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Black_to_clover/pseuds/Black_to_clover
Summary: The story of a very confused woman taken on a very confusing journey through the very confusing worlds of the multi-universe.Starring: Beatrice Cornell, who is very very (*author sigh)... very confused.





	1. Prologue

Prologue:

[Phone_recorded_video_#1]

"Oookay...um...Before we start all this, I just wanted to tell anyone who gets this message that this is not fake. I am not lying, stretching the truth, or off my rocker. As much as I wish it wasn't, this is really happening to me; and if you look through all this, you'll know exactly what I mean. Tell my family that I love them and that I am trying my hardest to get back home...And please, if you ever see a strange bright ball of light coming towards you in the middle of the woods, don't be stupid like me and reach for it. You're in for one hell of a long ride if you do."

[End_of_video]

To be continued...


	2. The Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers!!!
> 
> To be honest, I have no idea where this story is going to go; but, with luck and a bit of will, I might make something good out of this. Hopefully, this will be amusing to both me and all of you. This first chapter is going to be a bit depressing and long, but I wanted to fully shape the base of my OC and give her more depth than a random girl whose background is never fully talked about. She is not perfect nor is she overly kind, but she will grow. I am open to any plot recommendations if you guys have any.
> 
> Now, read on my lovely readers, read on!!
> 
> \- Dyan.
> 
> p.s. I sadly do not own the Avengers and anything I write is for my own amusement.
> 
> p.p.s. WARNING: I should warn you that this chapter has descriptions of death and the aftermath of a lost loved one. Please tread lightly if you are sensitive to this kind of content.

**Chapter 1: The Beginning**

[Journal_entry_memos_#162]

 _Firstly, I would like to say that in no-way-shape-or-form have I ever labeled myself to be a fangirl. Life has been too chaotic for those kinds of trivialities, especially for things like a "fandom." I've heard those ridiculous stories that some people write where a too-perfect girl gets sucked into the fictional world of her dreams, changes everything for the better, falls in love with one of the handsome male leads, and lives happily ever after; but that is exactly where the problem lies--It's all supposed to be completely ridiculous._ A fairy tale _. It's not supposed to be real, and I had stopped believing in fairy tales a long time ago._

_Back in the day--before I was basically uprooted from my entire life and carelessly flung into worlds of heroes, kings, magic, and utter pandemonium--I was certain of three things:_

_One: fairytales never happened in real life._

_Two: if they did, they never happened to me._

_Three: if they actually did happen to me, I would be very confused because of the other two points._

_...I guess I now have the experience to want to laugh in my younger self's face and tell her how wrong she was. For I can tell you three things with uttermost certainty: they do, they have, and I most definitely am._

_At least I got the last one right._

_It is just my luck that this whole journey also began with the same number of three things: an argument, a walk in the woods, and a bright light that whispered my name..._

_____________(to the actual beginning)______________

People say that "death brings out the best and the worst in families."

The Cornells, at that moment, were showing that they preferred the latter.

"We need to go through his room mom."

"No, we don't!" Mrs. Cornell shouted. Her voice reverberated across the house in a shrill soprano, making Beatrice wince. Not _this_ again. This was yet another, recurring argument Adrian has had with their mother for the past week since the siblings had come back home. Needless to say, each one had ended with their mother yelling her head off.

 _I think it's about time I started getting involved in this,_ Beatrice decided. So far, she had desisted from involving herself in these arguments for the sole reason that she shared a very similar temper with her mother. Hopefully, this wouldn't end badly.

 _Best to settle this quickly before either of them or me, say something stupid_ , she resolved. Closing the book she was reading, Beatrice got up and walked down the hallway to where she and her siblings' three bedrooms were.

She winced at the dull ache in her chest when she remembered that one of those rooms no longer had its tenant. She only had one brother now. At least one that was living. Now, there was an empty room and an empty place in their family that no one seemed to be able to fill.

Shaking her head to get rid of the negative thoughts, she focused on the arguing pair in front of her. Her mom was settled defensively before the closed door of Cedric's bedroom. The Cornell's eldest son, Adrian, towered over her, looking pleadingly at his mother. It was quite the incongruous sight. Her mother's slight build seemed to have the mismatched spirit of a raging bull; while her brother, giant that he was, took on the look of a sad, injured puppy.

"Yes, we do," he murmured, "He's gone, mom. We need to let him go," Adrian ended in no more than a whisper. Their mother's small gasp at his words only made his shoulders slump lower. Despite this, he continued on, "It's time for us to sort through his belongings."

"How can you be so cold-hearted?" Mrs. Cornell spat. "Don't you feel anything for your younger brother! He's been dead for barely half a year, and you already want to go through his things? Where did you learn to be so heartless Adrian? "

At her brother's hurt expression, Beatrice finally decided to step in.

"Stop it, mom. You know he didn't mean it that way," she interrupted quietly.

"I will not tolerate this kind of attitude in my house," their mother hissed, tears forming in her red-rimmed eyes. By this time, Mrs. Cornell looked like she was bordering on hysteria. With her thinning blond hair in disarray and the matching black splotches under her sleep-deprived eyes, she made the perfect picture of a grieving mother. The sight caused another dull ache in Beatrice's chest as she let out a bone-weary sigh. It was no wonder A had asked her to come and visit. Their mother had become so immersed in her grief while they were gone that she had burned it all out, leaving worse things to fester--like anger.

"My little boy is dead, and you want to take what's left of him away!"

"Mom, please stop yelling. We don't mean it that way," Beatrice said placatingly. She slowly reached for her mother's shoulder to comfort her, realizing that this reaction was worse than the ones before. She stopped when her mother jerked away from her touch. Her eyes widened at the response.

"No!" her mother screamed. "Don't you dare touch me. I know exactly what you mean! You just want to get rid of the evidence of your own dirty hands. That's what you want! Because if it weren't for you, he'd still be here!"

A cold silence came over the three as Mrs. Cornell softly sobbed to the floor. And even colder than the silence was the chill that spread through Beatrice--a numbness that crept down her spine to the tips of her fingers. Her mind blanked out as her mother's words whirled on repeat in her mind, words that she had been trying to push down for months.

 _It's all my fault. It's all my fault. It's all my fault. I killed my brother_. Images flashed in her eyes. Her little brother's blood covering her hands... Cedric's body lying dead on the floor... someone screaming...

A gentle touch brought Beatrice out of her whirlwind of memories and she realized that she was crying. Adrian had a grip on her arm with a worried expression on his face. He seemed split between comforting her and going to their mother who was now on the floor, sobbing. She gave him a small nod of reassurance that she was alright and wiped away the left-over tears under her eyes. Beatrice then immediately turned her attention to the woman on the ground.

"Mom, ple--"

"Why did it have to be him," the woman interrupted with a whisper. "Why did it have to be the only one out of you three that was really mine?"

On hearing those words, both siblings stiffened. Their adoption had never been a touchy subject until now. Their mother's apparent infertility was an old pain that had been soothed by their presence, and they had all loved each other despite their differences in pigmentation. This did not stop them, however, from being overjoyed when Ced came along. He was like a miracle, coming from something that they all thought to be impossible. That was until he died. Now, apparently, their mother seemed to be conveying that she couldn't find it in herself to go back to loving only her "second-hand" children.

Adrian, the gentle giant, tried to hide the pained expression that flashed on his face; but it only served to feed the rush of righteous indignation that Bea felt towards her mother. All sense of diplomacy and comforting words had left her now. All she could feel was the chill and the contempt that rose like bile up her throat and out of her mouth into poisonous words.

"If you didn't want us any more than you could have just said so," she snapped.

"Bea, stop," Adrian interjected. He tightened his grip on her arm and he tried to pull her away, but she only yanked it free and took a step closer to the other woman. Mrs. Cornell was now sitting up, slowly seeming to realize the gravity of her words. Her eyes widened and she tried to speak.

"Bea--I-I didn't-"

"You didn't what?" she interrupted. "You didn't mean to accuse me of killing Ced? That you basically love your biological child more than the strays you've picked up?" She scoffed, "I mean, of course, you do. It's perfectly understandable. We were nothing but replacements for the real thing weren't we?"

"Bea," Adrian's voice murmured in warning.

"And, you know what? If my hands are dirty than yours are three times as filthy!"

"Bea. Stop."

"If he meant so much to you, it wouldn't have ended like this! He wouldn't be dead. He'd be here. He'd be alive and I wouldn't have had to be the one to find him!"

"Bea, stop!" Adrian's voice boomed and lulled into a low rumble, "You've said enough."

A warm hand settled onto Beatrice's back and she, yet again, found herself to be in tears. She leaned into her brother's touch as her breath hitched, burying her face in her hands.

 _So much for not saying anything stupid_.

After a silent moment, a feather-light touch patted her arm. When she looked up in surprise, she was seeing into the apologetic eyes of her mother. This wasn't the parent that was in hysterics just a moment ago, this was the loving and warm mother Bea thought she had lost half a year ago. Her eyes still carried that haunted and saddened look, but there was the familiar gleam of maternal concern that eased a weight Beatrice hadn't even noticed was there.

A part of Beatrice wanted to lean forward, and embrace her mother and lose herself in the familiarity. But inside her, a storm still raged. She was filled with emotions that had taken six months to finally boil over. This was the woman that left her, left Adrian, and pushed them away. This was the woman who was so involved with her own pain that she couldn't see the pain she was inflicting on the rest of them. The only reason for her having realized _now_ was the fact that her daughter was screaming in her face.

Bea let out another shuttering sigh and closed her eyes. No, she didn't need the support of a woman like that. She didn't want it.

With a sense of finality, Beatrice shook the hesitant hand off her arm and straightened her back to her full height. Her mother's eyes flashed instant injury, but Beatrice was in no mood to care anymore. Without a word, Beatrice stared directly into the other woman's eyes and pushed everything that she was feeling into one final look. As Mrs. Cornell's face crumpled, Bea turned her back and quickly walked away.

Only silence followed her as she went down the hallway and out the front door, closing it with solemn resolution.

xxx xxx xxx

She only made it a few yards from the front porch before a hand took hold of her shoulder and turned her around to meet a pair of worried brown eyes. Adrian looked just as upset as she felt and she immediately felt remorse for making his situation harder.

"Bea, please. You don't need to do this," Adrian pleaded with her.

Beatrice deflated and huffed. "I know. I know. I'm sorry. I-I just couldn't hold it back anymore," she confessed. Her mother mentioning their adoption was like the last straw on the camels back. She had just snapped before she had even realized it.

 _But, that wasn't a very good excuse, was it?_ Bea inwardly cringed. She had not handled that well.

_Why did I even feel the need to walk out in the first place?_

By the time she had stepped out the door, all her anger had disappeared and she was left with a deflated pit of sadness and regret. She most definitely needed a talk with her mom. They both had said some things they obviously didn't mean. Bea silently groaned at the idea. Yes, they really needed to talk. But...not right now. She needed a breather. A walk would do some good. It would help clear her mind. After telling her brother just that, she added, "You should go back to mom. She needs you more."

"Are you sure? It's getting kind of dark out," Adrian hesitated.

Rolling her eyes, Bea snorted. "Yes, Drey. I'm a big girl now. I can take big girl walks on my own," she half smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

Still seeing the young man's hesitance, she gently shoved him towards the house. "Go. I'll be fine. Mom needs you. I've basically just verbally slapped her in the face."

"She did plenty of verbal slapping of her own," Adrian responded as he slowly inched towards the porch. His tired eyes still reflected worry for his sister, but the small, yet genuine, smile she was displaying showed him that she would be okay.

"Well, I think it's about time we had a good sit down and talked without any 'verbal slappery' don't you think?" she continued.

"Yeah," Adrian murmured in agreement. "I think so too." He paused, then added jokingly. "But, after a walk."

"But, after a walk," Bea repeated back. She nodded her head and turned, starting to walk away. Though she felt better after talking with her brother, she still needed some time to clear her head and, as much as she loved Adrian, it was something she had to do alone. After a small pause, her sibling's warm voice resonated into the air.

"You know I love you right?"

Bea's small smile widened as warmth spread through her chest at her brother's words. He always seemed to know the right things to say.

"Yeah, I know!" she called, not bothering to say it back. He already knew.

xxx xxx xxx

A half-hour into her walk, Bea was feeling much better. Her mind had now settled and she was now taking the time to stop and look at her surroundings, breathing in the slightly chilly fall air. She felt at peace in the silence of the woods and the beauty of the sunset as it highlighted the colors in the slowly shifting leaves. She had missed this. Smiling, Bea remembered the many times she had walked down this same path as a child. Sometimes with her brothers and sometimes alone, she had always somehow made a game out of it. She had created her own little world in these woods, playing princess of the forest while her brothers were her knights in shining armor.

_If only I could go to those days when fairy tales seemed real._

Bea huffed a pained laugh and shook her head. Tears began to gather at the corners of her eyes as happy memories started to turn sour. She had long given up on those useless made-up stories. They no longer applied to her. Even more so since her little brother was now dead. A party of three had lost its youngest member. Their tale had ended in tragedy. The end. And to add the icing to the cake, she realized with horror that she had just left her other brother to fend for himself... alone...with their mother.

Mentally slapping herself, Beatrice quickly turned around and started walking back towards the house. It was about time for her to grow up and smell the roses. She needed to apologize to her mother and she needed to start supporting Adrian more and get started on fixing this rift that had come between the three of them and...

" ** _Beatrice_**."

A voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts. Bea froze at the faint whisper of her name in her ear. Heart racing, she whirled around to see whoever it was who had said her name, only to come back with a normal view of the forest.

"Um...hello?" she asked.

" _ **Beatrice**_..." whoever-it-was, said in response, their voice growing no louder than a murmur.

“Yes? That’s me,” she declared warily, “What do you want?”

“ _ **Beatrice**_ , ” it repeated without answering. _**“Beatrice...”**_

The woman sighed exasperatingly, “If this is a joke, Adrian, you can come out now. It's not even funny.”

“ _ **Beatrice**_.”

“Yeah. I get it. My name’s Beatrice,” she quipped to the air. “Do you have anything else to say but my name?”

Despite her seemingly blase attitude, the young woman’s eyes were frantically searching her surroundings, trying to locate the origin of the voice. She was beginning to doubt her brother was behind this. There was no one out there but her.

" ** _Beatrice_** ," the voice kept chanting.

Bea was understandably starting to freak out at the situation. A disembodied voice in the middle of the woods was the perfect beginning of a horror film.

_**"Beatrice...Beatrice"** _

It was also not a good sign for her sanity either. She started to stumble backward when a sudden, chilling wind blasted through the trees, sending a cascade of fallen leaves towards her in a whirl. It curled around her with cold-fingered tendrils and whipped her long black hair into her face, temporarily blinding her.

Shielding her eyes, Bea gave out a small cry of surprise. The winds roared around her and she shivered as it bit into her uncovered skin. It was only a second later before everything suddenly froze in mid-air and the blustering winds settled as quickly as they'd begun, leaving Bea very bewildered and confused. A deep silence accompanied the unnatural stillness and Bea’s eyes widened when she opened them to see the view before her.

It was like someone had pressed the pause button on a movie screen. There was perfect stillness as the trees that surrounded her seemed stuck, bent over by the force of a nonexistent wind. The red and brown leaves of fall hung like fixtures in the air, unmoving. What caught Bea's full attention, however, was the small, white ball of light that was hovering at the center of the entire ethereal display.

The orb hung three feet away from her face, no bigger than her palm. It radiated a small warmth like a miniature star, thrumming with what seemed to be barely-contained power. Bea's mouth opened slightly in shock, and she simply stared at the light as it bobbed softly up and down amongst the leaves like it didn't have a care in the world. She gasped in surprise when the same, low voice from before spoke from it.

_**"Beatrice...come."** _

She blinked. Yep, she was definitely going crazy.

"Um...no thank you."

Despite her words, Bea couldn't help but stand frozen in place as the orb flitted closer towards her. It cast a strong, warm light on her face and the surrounding area, but it unexpectantly didn't burn or blind her. The fear she had felt just a moment ago slowly melted away and was replaced by her natural curiosity and amazement at what was before her eyes.

"What do you want?" she whispered.

 _ **"...Come..."**_ it responded simply.

Without even thinking, Bea reached out her right hand to try and touch the strange light. She wanted to see if it was real and not, in fact, a figment of her imagination. The moment she did so, she immediately regretted it. As her fingers barely brushed the edges of the orb, a great searing pain went through her hand and up her arm. She screamed out and ripped her hand away, but not before the orb had suddenly seemed to explode and encase her in a bright flash.

Surrounded by the white, now blinding light, Bea instantly closed her eyes. The pain in her arm ached and stung, muddling her mind. This left her not much else to do but accept the feeling of falling and the utter darkness that took her as she lost consciousness.

xxx xxx xxx

When she woke up, Bea found herself in a bed. It was soft and comfortable, but very unfamiliar. She must be in the hospital, her mind slowly concluded. Adrian probably went out looking for her after she hadn't come back home. The woman sighed at this. She did not want to think about her brother's reaction to finding her passed out and unresponsive. Heaven knows what he must have felt.

Turning over onto her side, eyes still closed, Bea snuggled deeper into the covers. She then took the time to revisit the memories of before she had collapsed. Her head was still hazy, but she could still recall the particulars.

Bea abruptly sat up as she remembered the light and the sudden pain. Her attention immediately went to her right arm and she quickly inspected it for any sign of injury. When she found it to be just as unblemished as it was before, the young woman felt relief fill her and let herself relax against the headboard. She then became quizzical. Maybe the light really was just a figment of her imagination after all.

Shrugging it off her mind for the moment, Bea looked around to get a bearing on her surroundings. Her relaxed posture went rigid as she did so. This was definitely not the hospital. The bed she now occupied was huge with expensive looking sheets of regal purple. The room in which it was situated was also quite extensive in size, large windows taking up the space of an entire wall across from her, displaying a scene of the ocean. Which ocean, Bea didn't know, but it spiked alarm bells in her mind since her mother's house was nowhere near the coast.

"So," a sudden male voice to her left drawled. "Tell me. What should a man of my caliber do when he finds a mysterious young woman passed out in his driveway?"

Jumping slightly in surprise, Bea's head swiveled to the source of the question. As she did so, her gaze met the humorous, yet unfamiliar, eyes of a man she had not noticed was there before. He was nonchalantly leaning against the doorway next to the bed and looking at her with a curious smirk.

Not bothering to wait for her to answer, the man continued. "I mean, any other person would have gone to the hospital or just left you there on the ground till you decided to get up. But me?" He gestured to himself. "I'm not just any other person."

Smirk widening, the man straightened from his position and slowly sauntered to the corner of the bed, both hands in the front pockets of his threading jeans. Bea, who was already on edge for being in unknown territory, followed his actions with cautious eyes. Looking at him at a better angle, Bea noticed that his face and persona now seemed familiar. Something itched at the back of her mind at this, but she couldn't put her finger on where she could have met this man before.

Ignorant of her inner dialogue, the man spoke again. "So little old me decided he'd take this strange woman into the comfort of his own home and wait for her to wake up," he said with a pause.

"But, I don't let just anybody into my lovely abode. I've got to know their name first," his smile turned roguish as he added, _"especially_ the ladies."

The man slowly stepped closer to her side as he spoke, his mischievous smirk giving way to a serious frown, "Now, what do you think my reaction was when I found that your lovely face didn't match any of the world's databases?"

Bea didn't really know how to answer to that. To be honest, she was too confused to really think at the moment. Something about this entire situation seemed off and it wasn't just her sudden change in location. There was something so familiar about this guy. The way he moved and spoke, plus his strange goatee, was causing the itch in her mind to increase.

At her silence, the man sighed in slight frustration. "Look, as much as I've loved your company for the past hour, I'd kind of like to get some questions answered and it would help a lot if you actually said something. You only have to answer this one question. That's it."

Leaning forward so that he was more level with Bea's face, the man gazed directly into her eyes. Brown meating brown.

"Who are you?"

In this position, the man's face finally registered in Bea's memories. The moment it did, a spike of panic coursed through her as she mentally back-tracked. This was impossible. This was so completely, logically, and scientifically not possible! Floundering in confusion, Bea could do nothing but gape as she realized she was now looking into the calculating, yet curious, eyes of the one and only Tony Stark.

_What the hell?!?_


	3. The New World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my lovely readers! Sorry for my severe lateness. RL has been dogging me down with stuff and I've just been too busy to write properly. My mom got diagnosed with cancer and my family has had to readjust. That, plus other stuff, has just gotten in the way.  
> Anyway, moving on! I would like to note that I know that the Divergence series was published in 2011 and not prior (lol. get it?) to the first Iron Man film, which was set in 2008. I just couldn't resist making the reference. ;)  
> -love, dyan  
> Again, I do not own Iron Man or the Avengers; but if I did, I'd probably buy my mother a new set of lungs.

[Journal_entry_memos_#165]

_When I look back at the beginning of my journey, a part of me wants to laugh at my actions when I first arrived. There were so many other ways I could have handled the situation better._

_No one can really blame me though. I have always been one to make rash decisions without thinking, even before this whole can of worms was opened. So, it's not a big surprise that I did what I did._

_Besides, I was already emotionally and mentally exhausted from the argument with my mother and the strange encounter with the light in the woods, so another part of me still believes that I reacted pretty well to being suddenly transported into another universe._

_...This, however, does not stop the great majority of myself that wants to hide in a corner and weep in embarrassment_

       xxx xxx xxx 

_What the hell?_

After gaping for a few seconds, Beatrice's mind seemed to shut down from the shock and had begun the process of restarting itself. Shaking her head slightly, the young woman blinked slowly as she rebooted and focused her gaze back onto the man before her, instantly stopping her first train of thought after realizing how ridiculous it sounded. Yeah… no. She inwardly cringed. That was just preposterous. Why the hell had her brain automatically jump to that conclusion? Tony Stark didn't even exist. He was a fictional character from the Marvel comics and Cinematic Universe. This guy was definitely someone else. He had to be.

Even so, the young woman couldn't deny the man's uncanny similarity to the cinematic hero. To the shape of the man's goatee, to the oil-stained AC/DC t-shirt, to the small upward quirk of his lips, this guy could pass off as Stark if he really wanted to. But for all she knew, this could be the actual actor R.D.J. himself, and he had started using some sort of…anti-aging cream that made him look ten years younger. That would explain both the million-dollar looking living space and his cocky attitude. Or if that was stretching it (and it kind of was, she had to admit) the guy could simply be a relative of his. A really _close_ relative...

After studying the man at her bed-side, Beatrice belatedly realized she had failed to answer his first question. As she quickly tried to recall the words that he had just spoken just a moment ago, the man shifted once again to sit at the edge of the bed near her side. He made sure to maintain some semblance of personal space while doing so, which she silently appreciated, but his expression was swiftly changing from its calculating and narrowed gaze to a slightly concerned one as he looked at her unresponsive face. Cocking his head slightly, his eyebrows scrunching together, the actor-look-alike spoke in a softer voice than he had done before.

"Hey, Tiny Tim, you there?"

A beat of silence past as Bea processed the genuine concern in his expression. "Yeah, I—I'm good," she said slowly as she nodded her head, giving a small smile of reassurance, "You just surprised me is all."

The man looked skeptical but didn't have time to question further as Beatrice blurted out, "Anyone ever tell you, you look a lot like Robert Downey Jr?"

The man quirked an eyebrow at the random change in subject but shook his head. "No. Never heard of the guy. Is he famous?"

"A bit," Beatrice answered simply, raising her own brow at this. The man didn't appear to be lying. How can a person not have heard of one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood? Specifically, someone who looked exactly like him.

"Huh," the man continued, "I should look him up sometime then. If I got a doppelganger, I gotta' meat him, especially if he's got the same kind of whiskers. Awesome facial hair bros should stick together."

To Beatrice's surprise, she laughed. It was a small, pitiful thing but it caused her to relax slightly. She was still on edge because of the fact that she had woken up in an unfamiliar place and was now talking to a stranger who spoke about world-databases and looked insanely like one of her brother's childhood heroes. The flash of white light still burned in her memory and she wondered if the scene in the woods was truly just a weirdly realistic dream. The man looked on, his brown eyes twinkling in similar amusement. He seemed to consider something for a second before he got up and spoke again.

"You know what? I think my intense interrogation schpeel is kind of harsh for someone who's just woken up from their beauty sleep," he prattled on. "I'm just going to call up the others so that we can properly introduce ourselves. Pepper is especially worried about you since she's the one who found you first. I think you'll like her."

On hearing the familiar name, the young woman's posture stiffened and her timid smile froze, a sense of dread once again settling uncomfortably in the pit of her stomach. No. No. No. It couldn't be…This couldn't be happening. The very idea of it was completely ludicrous in and of itself. It had to be a coincidence. It had to be. Bea's mind started to race as it went on and on with ongoing questions and her heartbeat quickened its pace within her chest as the internal panic began to build. It felt like a splash of freezing, cold water when the man called out to nothing in particular as he looked toward the ceiling.

"Hey Jarvis, can you tell Happy and Pepper that our sleeping beauty has awoken?"

"As you wish, Sir," answered a smooth and very recognizable voice.

"Thanks, buddy."

Beatrice's eyes widened as she heard the familiar British lilt and her hands began to shake. There were too many coincidences building up to make this an actual coincidence. A man, that looked exactly like Tony Stark, had two friends that had the same names as Tony Stark's friends who were apparently being informed by the British voice in the ceiling named Jarvis that she was awake. If this was a damn prank, Bea would congratulate the person responsible for being so convincing…after punching them in the face of course. But what if this wasn't a prank? What if this was all real? Bea shuddered at the thought, panic beginning to cause a slight ring in her ears. She could feel her heart in her throat, its fast rhythm making it hard to think.

Currently preoccupied with her inner turmoil, the young woman failed to notice the man watching her and cautiously approach her after seeing her sudden change in demeanor. He quietly went back to her side and leaned over to get a good look at her face, mild concern etching itself in the thinning line of his mouth. He looked down at her glazed-over eyes and stretched out a hand to shake her shoulder.

"Hey. You sure your al—?"

The moment his fingers touched the hem of her sleeve, Bea lurched back. Reacting without even thinking, Bea grabbed the pillow behind her back and unceremoniously slammed it into the side of Stark's face. Surprised by the unprovoked attack, the man let out a grunt and staggered from his leaning position over the bed. His socked feet slipped on the smooth, wooden floor as he quickly lost his balance; and Bea took this opening to then shove him hard in the side. Letting out a curse, arms flailing, the man fell to the ground with a loud thud. With him distracted, the young woman swiftly removed herself from the purple sheets and jumped to her feet, making a dash for the door to her left.

Not even looking back, Bea took a random left turn and sprinted down a curved, white-walled hallway. All the while, her mind was buzzing a loud line of profanities.

_Crap. Caraap! Crap. Crap-ity Crap. Crap! Why the hell did I just do that? StupidStupidStupid! Oh my god. There's no fricken way this is happening. What's going on!?_

Ignoring the yells of the man she'd left behind, Bea quickly spotted a stairway going down to another floor. Turning a sharp right, the woman took two stairs at a time, huffing as she went. She immediately caught site of another man at the bottom. He was broad-shouldered and wearing a black suit. His face immediately sent warning bells in her memory as she recognized him as a young version of Happy Hogan from the Iron Man movies. Beatrice mentally screamed. _This was so messed up! These people shouldn't even exist._ Hogan gave a look of surprise at her sudden appearance but, when he heard Stark's yells echoing down the hallway, he instantly went into a fighting stance, looking ready to make a grab at her.

Not bothering stop her momentum, her brain working on pure adrenaline, Bea leaped from the third-to-last step and propelled herself at the man twice her size. Later, she would probably be very apologetic at her rash decision to go on the offensive but, at that moment, all she felt was the pure terror at the thought that all of this was real. As Hogan's expression contorted into one of utter shock at her sudden actions, Bea bent her left arm and swung her elbow into the side of his face causing him crash to the ground, dazed. The woman lithely landed on the balls of her feet and frantically looked around for an exit.

Quickly spotting a glass door to her right, Beatrice made a move to sprint towards it, making sure to not step on the man on the floor. He already seemed to be in the process of trying to get back onto his feet but Beatrice paid him no mind as she dashed towards her way to freedom. A sliver of hope rose quietly within her as she moved to stretch out her arm and grasp the doorknob but it instantly disappeared when the young woman's body suddenly locked up and froze mid-step. Precious seconds past by as she desperately attempted, but failed, to make her limbs move forward to her will, fingers twitching only minutely in her efforts. Eyes widening in dismay, her panic tripled as she once again heard a familiar small voice rise unbidden in her ear.

**_'Stop.'_ **

What the actual fu—

The large arms of Happy Hogan suddenly encased her from behind. Obviously having taken her sudden immobility to his advantage, the man grabbed her around the waist, pinning her arms to her sides. The second he did so, the momentary stasis she was suffering through instantly disappeared as fast as it had begun. Somewhat overwhelmed by what had just occurred, Bea pushed down the burgeoning anxiety and focused on trying to escape the man's iron grip. He was obviously bigger and stronger than her, and any advantage of surprise that she had was gone now that he had already apprehended her. With her continued struggle, Hogan grunted and lifted her up off her feet, trying to carry her away from the door. This didn't help very much seeing how, as soon as the young woman felt the ground disappear from under her, she began to struggle twice as hard while screaming bloody murder.

"Let me go, you fricken bastard!" Beatrice yelled, swinging her legs backwards in hope that she might hit something important.

"Mam," the man grunted out, trying and failing to be reassuring, "Mam, please calm down for a second. We aren't going to hurt you."

"Like hell!"

They continued their skirmish, both parties failing in succeeding to subdue the other. Neither of them noticed the arrival of Stark, a bit ruffled but unharmed, as he rushed down the stairway to catch up with them, his eyebrows rising as he saw the scene in front of him. Nor did they take notice when another female form rushed into the room, obviously coming in to check up on what all the noise was about. The woman, in turn, gasped as soon as she saw the pair, her worried expression morphing into one of complete shock.

"What in the world is going on in here?" she yelled. Both Hogan and Beatrice froze and turned their heads simultaneously towards their new audience. Beatrice's mind automatically identified her as Pepper Potts, future CEO of Stark Industries. Seeing her kind face made Bea feel both relieved and terrified. Yet another face seemingly copied and pasted out of the Iron Man movies.

"What in heaven's name are you doing, Happy?" the ginger spoke in a no-nonsense-tone. "Put her down,"

"She was making a run for it, Miss Potts," Hogan tried to explain as he slowly, but reluctantly, obeyed.

"That's no excuse," the woman chided, "She's injured and she's probably confused as to what's going on."

While she spoke, Miss Potts swiftly approached the two and warmly took Beatrice by the shoulders, gently creating a physical barrier between the brunette and Hogan. Bea didn't quite know what to do at this point, remaining motionless as she gazed up at the red-haired woman before her. It was all happening so fast. Seeing not one, not two, but three faces from a movie series she hadn't seen in years was beginning to fray at the edges of her sanity. This had to be some sort of dream. Nothing but a weird, strangely realistic dream where she was probably laying around somewhere in the woods right now, dead to the world, or recovering in the hospital, drugged up and drooling all over herself.

…Yeah…that's what this was.

Nothing but a dream…?

Despite her mind arguing with itself on whether what was currently happening was happening at all, Beatrice couldn't help the way her body began to minutely relax under the grounding presence of the taller woman. The adrenaline that had been seeping through her every pore was now slowly slipping away, the persistent ringing in her ears dissipating with it. This, however, was replaced by a slight tremble in her hands as her body finally registered the sudden exertion and panic it had just undergone, the weight of the situation settling once again like an elephant on her chest. This was too damn real to be a dream.

The taller woman gazed down at Bea and smiled kindly, "Are you alright?"

"I'd say she's alright if she can still pack that big of a punch," Stark chirped out from behind them, "For such a short-stack, she sure can run fast."

As the attention shifted to the man who had just spoken, Miss Potts' eyes instantly narrowed in a mix of accusation and exasperation, her hands staying consolingly on the other woman's arms.

"Mr. Stark, what exactly did you do to make her find the need to run?"

Stark scoffed and put his hands in the air, "I didn't do anything! Honestly woman, have a little faith in me."

"Well, you obviously did _something_ to her. She's shaking like a leaf."

"That was all Happy's fault," Stark wined, childishly pointing a finger at the other man, who shifted sheepishly as he took out his phone. "He's the one who decided to go all Chuck Norris on her."

The ginger rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to argue but was interrupted when Stark suddenly dashed toward the other man across the room.

"Happy, what are you doing?" he questioned as he looked at Hogan's phone screen. "No. Nonono! Don't you dare call the police."

"Mr. Stark," the other man tried to explain discreetly, "It's a bit obvious this woman is a bit crazy in the head, sir."

"But this is interesting!" Stark exclaimed, "The most interesting thing that has happened in months! She's a total mystery. There is nothing in any of the databases that show that she even exists!"

"Mr. Stark, is that even important at the moment?" Potts interrupted, "To be honest, it's the hospital we should be calling." At this, the woman looked down at the strangely silent raven-haired woman who was looking one step away from being overwhelmed. "I'm so sorry. We should have done it as soon as we saw you. I should have tried harder to convince him."

"Pfff," Stark scoffed as he turned toward the two women, "Pepper, you know me. I wouldn't have listened to you anyway. And, no," he shook his head, "She is staying here."

The ginger huffed in frustration and put her hands on her hips, looking at the man as if he were a child.

"Tony—"

"She was fine until I talked to Jarvis," the billionaire said quickly, "He must have spooked her or something. Was that it, Peanuts?" he asked, looking at Beatrice, "Jarvis freak you out? The AI tends to do that to newbies. He won't hurt you, I promise. He's just a rather very intelligent system that I created; has no physical body to him but he controls basically everything in the mansion. You could say he was my own personal butler. Isn't that right, buddy?"

"If you are speaking in basic terms, sir, then yes. I am," Jarvis answered back.

Stark smiled reassuringly, "I promise he won't do anything like take over the world or put salt in your cupcakes unless I ask him to."

Beatrice blinked as she processed the huge cacophony that Stark had just rattled out of his mouth, but something in her just couldn't find it in herself to believe that this was actually happening. Hands still trembling at her sides, she shook her head.

"…No," she murmured.

"Pardon?" the man asked, his shoulders slumping slightly at her answer.

"No, he didn't," Bea began, still shaking her head, "He couldn't've. He's not even supposed to be—"

_Real,_ she was about to say but the word suddenly stopped before it could pass through her lips. For a few moments, Beatrice could feel her throat constrict as she struggled to force it out. Eyes widening slightly, she realized she could no longer make a sound—as if she were suddenly rendered mute. It was terrifyingly similar to what happened a few moments ago when she was trying to escape through the door. Another wave of anxiety coursed through her as the small and familiar voice rose up again.

_**"Don't."** _

"He's not supposed to be what, two-bits?" Stark asked, eyebrow raised.

So, she hadn't imagined it before. Beatrice's mind raved as she began to connect the dots. The light from the woods had caused all this. She remembered that voice! It spoke to her, controlled her movements when she tried to escape, and presumably sent her here. But, why? Oh god, why? That could mean… that could mean that all of this was fricken real. Oh god. Oh god. Oh god.

"Two-bits?"

Realizing she could suddenly speak again, Bea scrambled to find something to say, "I—I mean, AI's exist? Aren't—aren't they supposed to be decades in the making or something?"

She stiffened as the genius blankly stared at her for a moment only to breathe a small sigh of relief when he began to smirk in amusement.

"You do know who you are talking to right?"

Bea paused but decided _screw it, there's already too many nails in my coffin anyway_ , "You're Tony Stark, if I am correct?"

"The one and only," the billionaire declared as he sealed her fate, his expression shifting to his signature, cocky grin, "Meaning, I create AIs in my past-time. The world simply just hasn't caught up to me yet."

"…I see," the young woman responded weakly.

"So, we good?"

"What?"

"We good?" Stark repeated as he pointed between her and himself. "No more freaking out and throwing pillows at each other's faces or using Happy as a living punching bag, right? I mean, no hurt feelings on my part. This is the most excitement I've had in weeks."

"Uh…" Bea stumbled for a response, "yes?"

The man looked pleased and energetically gestured towards her with both of his hands as he looked at his secretary.

"See?" he smirked, "Problem solved."

The red-head looked anything but convinced and turned her eyes back to Beatrice. "You're sure?"

No, Bea was not sure. She wasn't sure about anything anymore.

"Yeah…its fine," she said quietly, "This was all a misunderstanding on my part. I—I kind of overreacted." She paused in consideration, "No. Not kind of. I _really_ overreacted. Sorry, by the way."

"No biggy, mini-ninja, the only thing bruised is my pride," Stark drawled, waving off her apology, "What about you, Happy? Looks like you're gonna have quite the shiner when this is done."

Bea winced at this, despite the impossible situation, and looked over at Happy apologetically. Stark was right. There was a fast-growing redness spreading where she had hit him near his right eye.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that."

Hogan simply gave a noncommittal shrug and straitened his suit jacket, "I've had worse."

"That's my man," Tony smirked, "So, now that all the confusion has settled and we've kissed all our boo-boos, how 'bout we get back to business? I've still got a lot of questions that need answers."

"Don't you think we should let her rest for a bit?" Pepper interrupted, "She has just woken up."

Both Stark and Beatrice spoke at the same time in response to this. Stark with, "Tried that. Didn't work," and Beatrice with "No. No, it's fine."

All attention went to Bea's words though and they looked at her with varying degrees of surprise.

Feeling the need to continue, the young woman explained shakily, "I've got a few questions of my own."

Stark beamed at this and gestured for all of them to go to the huge sitting area behind them. "How 'bout we play twenty questions then? You ask a question then I ask a question. Makes it less like an interrogation," he said enthusiastically.

Beatrice simply nodded and cautiously followed his lead as she tried to gather her wits and stop the internal screaming. It was getting quite loud. Now that her body had somewhat calmed down with the sure force of will, it gave her mind more time to freak the hell out. In a scientific standpoint, this was impossible. In a logical standpoint, this was still impossible. There was simply no way that this situation could be happening. But it was. Her dreams never felt like this. There were no familiar sensations of floating or general murkiness that always came with her dreamscapes. All that was happening right now, at this exact moment, was happening with nature-defying, mind-shattering clarity. And it terrified her. This goateed man was Tony fricken Stark—genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist and superhero. The two people at his side were his friends and employees, Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts. They were real. So fricken real…and at the moment they were all looking at her like she was a crazy woman.

"Are you sure you're alright," Miss Potts asked quietly as they walked toward a curved, brown sofa. Behind it, was a large glass window like the one in the room she woke up in. It took up the entirety of the wall and showed yet another beautiful scene of the ocean. Bea would probably have appreciated the beauty of it if it weren't for the terrifying fact that it shouldn't even be there. She had been nowhere near the ocean before she had fainted… but there it was. It was yet another form of proof that she wasn't in Kansas anymore. Beatrice could do nothing but stare at it for a moment and wonder when the world would decide to stop shitting on her.

"Where am I?" she asked quietly, avoiding answering the ginger's question. She wasn't sure she would be able to give a positive response.

Hogan had disappeared somewhere without her realizing it but both Stark and Miss Potts had already seated themselves next to each other and they looked up at her with genuine concern.

"…You are in Mr. Stark's mansion in Malibu, California," the ginger spoke kindly, "We found you past-out in front of Stark's house when we came back from a meeting and we brought you in to make sure you were alright."

When Beatrice nodded in understanding, the woman formally introduced herself. "My name is Virginia Potts but you can call me Pepper. The man you saw is Happy Hogan, Mr. Stark's chauffeur, and you know who this is," she said as she indicated to man beside her.

_It would be impossible to_ not _know who he is_ , Bea thought as she looked down at the man.

"So, what's _your_ name, short-stack?" Stark asked nonchalantly as he patted the spot next to him, indicating for her to sit. Pepper flashed him a look of disapproval which he simply ignored, putting all of his focus onto the other woman.

Bea hesitated, not quite knowing how to answer. Would the light let her use her real name? Should she even tell them her real name?

_I mean, it's not like it's anything particularly important and I can't feel my throat locking up like it did before so…_

"Bea," the brunette stated as she sat down next to the billionaire. "My name is Bea."

"You mean like the letter B?" Stark asked, almost teasingly.

"No. Bea as in B. E. A." she spelled out and clarified, rolling her eyes slightly, "It's short for Beatrice but I prefer Bea."

"Well Bea, you gave us quite a scare," Pepper said as she looked warmly over at her and smiled, small crinkles appearing at the corner of her eyes. Stark, on the other hand, looked contemplative, leaning back casually in the sofa cushion.

"Beatrice..." Tony repeated, his mouth working exaggeratingly around each syllable. "Huh...You mean like the girl from those diverge-watcha-ma-call-it movies?"

"Mr. Stark, please," Pepper gently admonished. The man's smirk widened as he yet again pretended not to hear her, "I take it your last name's not Prior?"

Bea shook her head, holding back her own small grin despite herself, and responded simply, "No."

"Then what is it?"

"Cornell."

Stark tilted his head and pursed his lips as he seemed to study the surname for moment.

"…How droll."

At this, Pepper let out another exasperated sigh and Bea yet again found herself relaxed enough to let out a small laugh at the ridiculousness. The anxiety caused by the situation seemed to dissipate minutely as she did so and the woman belatedly realized that her hands had stopped shaking. From the small twinkle of triumph in Stark's eyes, Beatrice immediately perceived that he had done it on purpose. Spouting out random stuff seemed to have been his way of diverting her attention to less stressful subjects, therefore leading to her becoming more relaxed. It was a smart move. And it _worked._

_Huh,_ she thought pensively, _Who knew that Tony fricken Stark –genius, playboy, billionaire, philanthropist—had a heart._

"Yeah, sorry," Bea spoke, a bit of her natural snark coming back to the surface, "You'll find that I am actually quite the 'droll' person to be around."

The mirth in Stark's eyes only seemed to grow as he let out a small chuckle and drawled, "Oh Beatrice, all surnames aside, I've got a feeling you're gonna be _anything_ but boring."


End file.
